From petty rivalries to messy lawsuits, these are the biggest fashion feuds to remember.

Behind all the glitz and glamour of the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/categories/fashion-week" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fashion runways</a> and collections, there&rsquo;s a side that many may know little about: the drama, backstabbing and intrigue that can come with the stress of creating the best collections and making sure the world knows and appreciates them. Inevitably, it brings some heated arguments and not-so-friendly competition.&nbsp;
The history of fashion is not just about groundbreaking designs and the events that inspired them; it&rsquo;s also marked by intense rivalries that shaped the industry, and perhaps motivated the creatives behind them to persevere even harder. From <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/gabrielle-chanel-nickname-coco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coco Chanel&rsquo;s</a> public clashes with <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/history-of-maison-schiaparelli-elsa-schiaparelli-shocking-pink-daniel-roseberry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elsa Schiaparelli</a> to the media face-offs between <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/giorgio-armani-40th-anniversary-book-per-amore" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Giorgio Armani</a> and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/donatella-versace-fall-winter-2023-los-angeles-show-celebrities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Versace</a>, these feuds reveal an interesting layer to the fashion world, to say the least. Whether fueled by artistic differences, professional competition, or personal animosities, these are fashion's most unforgettable conflicts.&nbsp;

Portrait of Coco Chanel. Photo by Evening Standard courtesy of Getty Images.

Portrait of Elsa Schiaparelli. Photo by Jerry Cooke courtesy of Getty Images.

As a revered designer with an enduring legacy in the French fashion world, Coco Chanel has had quite a few memorable feuds over the years, which we&rsquo;ll get into later. But there&rsquo;s no denying that her biggest rival was perhaps Elsa Schiaparelli. In the 1930s, they were two of the most prominent names in the fashion industry. Yet, Chanel refused to publicly acknowledge Schiaparelli's undeniable influence; she even referred to the latter as &ldquo;that Italian artist who makes clothes.&rdquo; In turn, Schiaparelli also called Chanel a &ldquo;hat maker,&rdquo; alluding to the designer's humble beginnings as a milliner in 1910.&nbsp;
However, their feud escalated from mere witty banter when Chanel &ldquo;accidentally&rdquo; pushed Schiaparelli into a candle arrangement at a costume ball. While Schiaparelli didn&rsquo;t sustain any injuries from the fire, it certainly made their rivalry one to remember.&nbsp;

Portrait of Coco Chanel in 1929. Photo by Hulton Archive courtesy of Getty Images.

Portrait of Christian Dior. Photo by Hulton Archive courtesy of Getty Images.

It seems difficult to imagine that two of the most iconic figures in French fashion, not to mention the fashion world alone, would be in such fierce competition. After all, they each had something entirely different to offer. So why should it matter to either of them?&nbsp;
It surely mattered to Coco Chanel, especially given her dedication to minimalism and elegance, which starkly contrasted with Christian Dior&rsquo;s penchant for extravagance and decadence. At one point, as the fashion world praised Dior, Chanel said he &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t dress women. He upholsters them.&rdquo; In response, Dior noted on a different occasion that his work was &ldquo;dedicated to the beauty of the female body.&rdquo; Their professional rivalry is addressed in the Apple TV+ series <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/the-new-look-christian-dior-coco-chanel-rivalry-apple-tv-plus-tv-show">The New Look</a> which focuses on the designers as they&nbsp;

Coco Chanel vs. Crist&oacute;bal Balenciaga

Portrait of Coco Chanel. Photo by Hulton Archive courtesy of Getty Images.

It&rsquo;s fairly obvious that Coco Chanel did not shy away from criticizing her contemporaries, especially when she had already established herself in the fashion industry. But the difference between her feuds with the abovementioned and Crist&oacute;bal Balenciaga was that she and the latter actually started as friends. That was until Coco criticized Crist&oacute;bal&rsquo;s designs in an interview with Women&rsquo;s Wear Daily, where she questioned Crist&oacute;bal&rsquo;s credibility in creating women&rsquo;s clothes when he didn&rsquo;t know anything about a woman&rsquo;s body. Other than that, not much is known about their rivalry, given that Crist&oacute;bal was an extremely private person. But, it seemed their feud was not too deep after all when Crist&oacute;bal attended Coco&rsquo;s funeral.&nbsp;

Giorgio Armani and Donatella Versace. Photo by J. Vespa/WireImage courtesy of Getty Images.

In a <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/giorgio-armani-a-man-for-all-seasons-zhfj8d77hrc">2015 interview with the Sunday Times Magazine</a>, Giorgio Armani alleged that the late Gianni Versace once made a misogynistic comment to him regarding their clientele and said, &ldquo;I dress sluts. You dress church ladies.&rdquo; Later, Donatella Versace <a href="https://pagesix.com/2015/04/21/donatella-versace-rips-tasteless-giorgio-armani/?_gl=1*1ldxrh8*_ga*MTU4MTEzOTI4OC4xNjc5MzY2NTg5*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*MTcwNTk0NTQ5My42LjEuMTcwNTk0NTcxNS4wLjAuMA..&amp;_ga=2.257833867.1836394109.1705945495-1581139288.1679366589">commented on her late brother&rsquo;s behalf</a> and said she found Armani&rsquo;s comments &ldquo;rude and tasteless, especially because he is sadly no longer with us to reply.&rdquo; &ldquo;When my brother spoke about fashion, the only word that ever came from his mouth was &lsquo;glamour,&rsquo;&rdquo; she added.&nbsp;

Giorgio Armani vs. Dolce &amp; Gabbana

Portrait of Giorgio Armani. Photo by Stephane Cardinale courtesy of Getty Images.

Portrait of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Photo by Andrea Blanch/Getty Images.

Just like Coco Chanel, Giorgio Armani is not afraid to criticize his counterparts, and among those that he critiqued are fellow Italian luxury designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Their feud dates back to 2009 when <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/jan/19/giorgio-armani-accuses-dolce-gabbana">Armani alleged that Dolce &amp; Gabbana &ldquo;copied&rdquo; trousers</a> from a recent Armani collection. Later, Dolce &amp; Gabbana issued a statement and said that they could not have plagiarized Armani&rsquo;s trousers because it has been &ldquo;years since we have bothered to watch his collections&rdquo; (per <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/armani-accuses-dandg-of-copying">Vogue</a>).&nbsp;

Portrait of Yves Saint Laurent. Photo by Stephane Cardinale courtesy of Getty Images.

Portrait of Tom Ford. Photo by Phil McCarten courtesy of Getty Images.

Many might know Tom Ford for his eponymous luxury fashion house that he founded in 2005. But before that, Ford also served as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent for five years. Yet, years after Ford left the Maison to start his own brand, he revealed in an interview with CNBC that his time with YSL was not exactly pleasant: &ldquo;I have letters from Yves Saint Laurent [...] I remember one line: 'in thirteen minutes, you&rsquo;ve destroyed 40 years of my work,&rdquo; said Ford.&nbsp;

Yves Saint Laurent vs. Christian Louboutin

Portrait of Yves Saint Laurent. Photo by Authenticated News courtesy of Getty Images.

Portrait of Christian Louboutin. Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage courtesy of Getty Images.

The YSL and Christian Louboutin feud was not between the designers themselves, but rather a trademark infringement. While not everyone might be familiar with Christian Louboutin&rsquo;s footwear, they have likely heard of someone referring to the brand as &ldquo;red bottoms&rdquo; for its signature red outsole. But in 2011, Louboutin sued YSL for trademark infringement after the latter launched a collection of monochrome shoes, which included one in red. Ultimately, YSL won the lawsuit after the court ruled that although red bottoms were an undeniable Louboutin signature, it could not dispute the color in and of itself, especially since the entire shoe YSL launched was red.&nbsp;

Yves Saint Laurent vs. Karl Lagerfeld

Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. Photo by Penske Media courtesy of Getty Images.

Lagerfeld and Saint Laurent&rsquo;s rivalry was perhaps one of the most longstanding feuds in fashion history. And while they continually jabbed each other for decades, their drama actually dates all the way back to 1953 when the two were up for a Woolmark Prize. Yves&rsquo; win marked the beginning of their fierce rivalry. Eventually, Yves Saint Laurent began making his mark in French fashion and later even worked alongside Christian Dior himself when he was only 21. Meanwhile, Lagerfeld worked behind the scenes, initially working with Fendi and later beginning his long tenure with Chlo&eacute;.&nbsp;
While their competition was initially professional, their feud became personal when the two fought over the affections of a man named Jacques de Bascher. Nonetheless, they were always destined for iconic status in the fashion world, with both founding their namesake houses.&nbsp;

Portrait of Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell. Photo by Michael Buckner courtesy of Getty Images for NAACP.

Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks are among the most iconic supermodels of the 90s, and both are credited for paving the way for Black representation in the modeling world. Yet, despite their rightful success, the two had a feud, which started when they were often compared to one another. According to Banks, Campbell didn&rsquo;t welcome her into the industry, even once noting that &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll never be me&rdquo; when the two crossed paths at a show. On a different occasion, Campbell allegedly wasn&rsquo;t pleased with Banks&rsquo; presence at a photo shoot, so much so that Banks was asked to leave.&nbsp;
Years later, Banks confronted Campbell about these allegations on The Tyra Banks Show in 2005. So for a while, it seemed that the two had worked out their differences &ndash; they have even been photographed together at several events. But, in 2020, Campbell shared <a href="https://www.thethings.com/heres-why-fans-are-starting-to-think-tyra-banks-is-the-real-mean-girl-not-naomi-campbell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an article published by&nbsp;The Things</a>, entitled, "Here's Why Fans Are Starting To Think Tyra Banks Is The Real Mean Girl, Not Naomi Campbell." So since then, it seems that <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/naomi-campbell-tyra-banks-feud-instagram" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the two's rivalry is back on</a>. Will the supermodels ever reconcile? One could only hope.&nbsp;

Adidas billboard. Photo courtesy of George Rose/Getty Images.

Portrait of Thom Browne. Photo by Dia Dipasupil courtesy of Getty Images.

Adidas may be known for its signature three-stripes logo, which it has used in most designs since the 1950s. However, Thom Browne, a luxury fashion brand, also claims some fame for its varsity-stripe motif, the Grosgrain Signature. While Adidas reached out to Thom Browne regarding concerns about the similarities, the two brands could not reach a settlement for trademark infringement. So, Adidas sued Thom Browne, alleging that the latter imitated its signature branding. Ultimately, Thom Browne won the case, as its legal defense argued that &ldquo;Adidas does not own stripes,&rdquo; according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/jan/13/adidas-loses-four-stripes-court-battle-designer-thom-browne">The Guardian</a>. &nbsp;

The Fiercest Feuds in Fashion History

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